American Tire Depot order to pay $18 million for dangerously old tires

Legal news for California product liability attorneys. ATD ordered to pay millions to a family of deceased boy who was killed in a 2006 crash.

California product liability lawyers alert- American Tire Depot found negligent for not switching out old Firestone tire that led to fatal crash.

Los Angeles, CA—The family of a 11-year-old boy who was killed in a vehicle crash caused by a old tire was awarded $18 million by a California jury. American Tire Depot (ATD), a tire-store chain, is ordered to pay the sum after the jury found they were negligent in installing the tire in the SUV involved in the fatal 2006 wreck, as reported by ABC News.

In May 2006, the Moreno family was riding in their Ford Explorer SUV down a highway in Riverside, CA, when the rear tire’s tread suddenly started to separate, causing the van to crash. Investigations later uncovered that the Firestone tire installed on the SUV at the time was 12-years-old. The Moreno’s claimed that ATD was responsible for exchanging the 12-year-old spare tire when they brought their SUV in for regular replacement tires. When the plaintiffs brought their SUV into ATD to replace two rear tires, ATD sold them one tire and was instructed to rotate the spare tire in with the others.

The jury was given evidence that showed both Ford and Firestone has released bulletins about aged tires. Bridgestone Firestone issued a technical bulletin in 2005 to its tire dealers, which stated, “It is recommended that all tires (including spare tires) that were manufactured more than ten (10) years previous be replaced with new tires.” Ford Motor CO. also issued an advisory in 2005 concerning aged tired, stating, “Tires degrade over time even when they are not being used.” Ford says that replacing tires is recommended “after 6 years of normal service.”

There are no current federal standards used to set an “expiration” date for tires.